Dallas in Miami
by FanGurl24
Summary: Dallas finally moves the Xquisite club to Miami, where he plans on expanding the business till he realises his dream of opening an 'empire' of strip clubs. He loves everything about Miami-the atmosphere, the clients and the money. But what this hardcore businessman never expected was to fall in love with a girl who makes him forget his obsession with money and only think of her.
1. Miami

Chapter One

Miami

Finally, I'd gotten the act to Miami. The Xquisite club was now officially gonna enter the big league. Big city, big ladies, big cash. Oh, yeah. I drove my new sedan through town, going to check on the club. It was still only 11 AM and there were 8 hours left for our opening act in Miami, but I couldn't wait. I felt like a kid with a brand new toy-all mine to play with. The house I'd rented was just a couple of blocks away from the club, so I could pop in and out whenever I wanted. I pulled up against the curb and screeched the car to a halt. A couple o' Miami hookers who probably didn't have much luck last night were hanging around the pavement. They eyed me with their heavily made-up eyes as I got outta my convertible. "Mornin' ladies!" I said, doffing my baseball cap at them. I heard a giggle and got a wink, which I returned as I pushed open the doors to the club. Ol' Marty was scrubbin' the floors, makin' 'em all nice and shiny for tonight's gig. "Hey Marty!" I called as I entered, leaning down to examine the smooth wooden floor, fully aware that the two hooker chicks were checkin' out my ass through the glass doors. "Mornin' boss. Didn' think you'd be here so early." returned Marty, his voice gruff through his white whiskers. The old man could be my grandfather, but ever since I employed him last week, he's been callin' me 'boss'. I like these Miami folks.

"I like checkin' out my workplace every once in a while. Quality of a dedicated businessman." I said. I winked at Marty, slapping him on the shoulder as I made my way backstage. The light boys were done there, screwin' in the lamps, and I had a couple of the wannabes fixin' up the mirrors, movin' in some tables and bringin' in some emergency weights for the boys to use just before a show. "H'lo boss." they said when they saw me saunter in. Those sweaty faced teenagers were fresh outta high school and lookin' fo something to do before they got swept into the whole college business in a year or two. They wanted to have some fun. Well, they were gonna have to earn it. I propped my foot up on one of the chairs they'd just wiped down. "You all prepped for tonight's show?" I asked. They nodded vigorously, obviously tring to please me. I leaned back. "Well boys, you gonna hafta earn it. This is Miami. You need to work hard to make any kinda money. Even easy money. So get wipin'." I said, turning and walking out. Man, I loved bein' an asshole.

"Yo Marty, I'm jus' steppin' out for a beer. Be back in a while." I called over my shoulder as I pushed my way outta the glass front doors. "Sure thing, boss!" he called back. As I was headin' to the curb I happened to bump into someone real hard. "Hey! Watch where-" I began when I looked down at the little thing I'd bumped into. She was a kid, really. Maybe about 21? She looked up at me with big chestnut-brown eyes. Her black hair was wild, unruly. It tumbled about halfway down her back. Her bold black eyebrows raised slightly when she took in my full height. "Well hello there, missy." I said, lowering my voice. Her smooth caramel skin darkened slightly around the cheeks. She was blushin'. "You from around here?" I asked. She raised one eyebrow a little higher than the other. "Do I know you?" she asked, tossing her hair and walking away. "Well, well, well," I mumbled to myself as I watched her walk down the street, "That little miss got attitude."


	2. Attitude

Attitude

The club was finally open for business. I stood at the bar in my usual gear-tight black pants, an unbuttoned black waistcoat and a black cowboy hat. I watched the crowd pour in-98% ladies. More importantly, 95% ladies with a lotta bling. A particularly giggly group entered. About half a dozen girls, barely outta their teens. One of them was dressed particularly conspicuously-in a short, tight white dress and a bouncy bridal veil. I'm guessing it was her bachelorette party. I straightened up and headed backstage. "You boys ready?" I asked my group o' hunks who would soon be rakin' in the moolah. I heard a chorus of "Oh, yeah, Dallas!" and "Bring it on, Miami!". I smiled. "Good. So let's get this show started."

"Good evening, Miami!" I drawled into the mic. The ladies whooped and cheered back at me. "I like your enthusiasm, ladies. I'm guessin' that'll keep us here for a looong time." I winked. I looked into the crowd and noticed Miss Bachelorette sittin' with her giggly posse right in the front row. There was only one girl in the group who wasn't giggling. I took a closer look and realised-with a little shock-that it was Miss Attitude from this morning. I wondered why I hadn't noticed her when she walked in. The little lady stuck out like a sore thumb. She was the only one in her little gang not in a sparkly dress or a tiny miniskirt. She sat still in her chair, her denim-clad legs crossed and her big black T-shirt hanging loose on her skinny frame, staring at me in shock. Well, she obviously recognised me. "Let's hope y'all have fun tonight, ladies." I said, looking at her.

I headed to a little niche in the corner of the stage where I was hidden behind the thick red curtain but I could see the performers and the first two rows of the audience at the same time. The first show was starting, starrin' my best boys, led by The Kid. I watched them perform, keepin' an eye on the audience as well. The bachelorette was beside herself, as were most of her friends, except Miss Attitude. She looked embarrassed. The Kid held out his hand and pulled the bachelorette onto the stage. Her friends shrieked and whooped, but lil' Miss Attitude rolled her eyes. My mouth tightened. If she thought my show was shit, she needn't have come at all. The Kid danced with the bride-to-be, lifting her and spinning her around and gettin' his hands all over her. Ohh yeah. I'd taught him well. He was causin' some of the more uninhibited girls to throw dollars onto the stage. Yeah, baby, I thought, That's the kinda response we aim for here.

When I returned to the stage to announce the next act-a solo of Mark "The Hunk" Robinson-I noticed Miss Attitude had deserted her gang. Had she left already? I felt a little spark of irritation. Then I spotted her standing alone at the bar, gettin' herself a drink an' talkin' to Rod, our bartender. I went backstage and then made my way to the bar. The little lady had her back to me, but Rod saw me comin'. "Hey Dallas!" he called. "Hiya, Rod. Maybe you can introduce me to you lil' friend here." I tipped my hat at Miss Attitude, who'd seen me and choked on her drink. "This is Laila Kumar. Laila, this is Dallas, the owner of Xquisite." said Rod. "Pleased to meet you, Laila." I said, lingering on her name. "Wish I could say the same." she replied curtly. Rod shook his head as I chuckled. "You got a sharp tongue, missy. Want me to do somethin' to it for ya?" I asked, leaning forward slightly. She pulled back, maintaining her delicate, straight-backed posture. She reminded me of those old black-n-white movie actresses-girlish, yet proud. "So how'd you know Miss Laila here, Rod?" I asked, watching Laila sip her drink, looking at me nervously outta the corner of her eye. "Oh, we go to college together." said Rod as he mixed drinks for two older ladies who'd just appeared at the bar. "Miami University, huh?" I drawled down at Laila. "Yeah." she said, giving me a full view of those chestnut-coloured eyes over the rim of her glass. "What do you study?" I asked. "Physics." she replied. I raised my eyebrows. "Physics." I repeated, wrapping my tongue around the word as I looked her up and down. Her T-shirt had the word "Kelly's" printed on it in yellow cursive writing. "Who's Kelly?" I asked, looking at her T-shirt, "Your girlfriend?" She snorted. "As if. It's the diner where I work." she replied, "Haven't you heard of it? It's pretty famous." "Naw. Jus' moved here a week ago." I replied. She nodded. "Figures," she said, "Where are you from?" "Tampa," I replied, straightening my cowboy hat. "But I'm guessing that's not where you got your Texas accent from." she said wryly. I grinned. "You're a sharp lil' lady," I said, leaning against the bar on my elbow, "I grew up in Austin." She smiled. She had even white teeth that looked startling against her dusky skin. I found myself looking down at her for a few moments more than I should have. "Who's on next?" asked Rod, jerking me back to reality. I looked at the stage and realised Mark was finishing his act. "Richie." I said, straightening up to go announce Richie's act. I turned to Laila. "It was a pleasure meetin' you, lil' lady," I said, "Would you like to grab a drink sometime?" She smiled. "I'll get back to you on that." she said.


	3. Kelly's

For the next two days, I didn't hear nothin' from Laila Kumar. She was probably too busy studyin' Physics or wipin' counters at Kelly's to check in on lil' ol' me. I snorted. _Get yourself together, Dallas_, I thought to myself,_ Since when've you gotten so shaken' up by a girl? This ain' middle school! _So I put the little lady outta my mind and got down to business counting last night's haul. I whistled under my breath. We'd made a pretty sum. I'd have plenty left for myself once I was done payin' the boys.

Around two in the afternoon I closed up and wondered where to have lunch. I'm a crap cook. Can't cook for shit. So I usually roam 'round town till I find a plays that catches my fancy. That was when the idea struck me. I stood up an' stretched, checkin' myself out in the dressing room mirror. I was dressed in old, ripped blue jeans and a red n' white checked button down shirt. Nothin' fancy, but it did sccentuate my six feet three inches quite nicely. I strolled outta the club, hailin' a cab as soon as I hit the street. "Where can I take you, sir?" smiled the middle aged driver. I shoved my hands into my pockets and leaned down. "Kelly's Diner." I said.

Ten minutes later, I was standin' in front of a black building in a middle class neighbourhood with a bright yellow sign on top fashin' the word "KELLY'S". "Bit of a narcissist, this Kelly," I muttered under my breath as I pushed the front door open. There was jus' a fair, skinny blonde at the counter, lookin' bored as she played with her eyebrow piercing. Her eyes widened when she saw me walk in. I ignored her. I was lookin' for someone else.

I settled myself into a table near the door so that I could leave quickly if Laila wasn't here. The diner didn' particularly appeal to me. It had this real stale smell that made me wanna barf. _Why does she even work here_, I wondered. Talk of the devil. As soon as I thought that, lil' Miss Kumar appeared from behind a yellow door that read "Staff Only". She was wearin' her Kelly's T-shirt and a pair of patchy blue jeans, her hair pulled up in a ponytail. Her eyes widened when she saw me. I winked at her. She looked at the blonde, who was clearely her boss. "Well, take his order. What're waiting for?" asked the blonde. Laila looked a little disoriented. She paused for a moment, then nodded and started walkin' towards me, pullin' a notepad outta her pocket. "Good afternoon, Sir, and welcome to Kelly's Diner. May I take your order?" she recited, as if from a textbook. I rolled my eyes. I slid further into the booth and patted the seat. "Cut the crap, Laila, and sit down. I wanna have lunch with you." I drawled. Her grip on her pencil loosened. "W-What?" she stammered. I sighed. I leaned forward, looked into her eyes an' said, "You didn' get back to me about our date. So I thought I'd get back to you." "But I work here!" she whispered, glancing at the blonde who was staring at us. "Don' care," I said, leanin' back, "Now sit down."


	4. A Day Off

Laila stared down at me with a frown on her face. I raised my eyebows, asking her a silent question. "Gimme a sec." she said, spinning around at heading to the counter. She had a long conversation with the blonde manager. I yawned and stretched, pretending to be bored, but I was actually keeping a sharp eye on Laila. Her eyebrows were drawn together as she explained the situation to the blonde. I noticed Laila used her hands a lot while talking. She was either gesturing or tucking a stray strand of silky black hair behind her ear. The manager listened, glancing at me ocassionally. She looked amused. Finally, Laila finished her monologue, twisting her hands together nervously as she waited for the blonde to reply. The blonde looked at me and nodded.

I smiled, triumphant, as Laila slid into the seat OPPOSITE me. I noticed she was careful not to come too close. Hmm. That could mean so many different things, but her behaviour on this little "date" of ours would hopefully give me a clue into her real thoughts. "You won't believe it, she gave me the rest of the day off!" Laila said, looking over her shoulder at the blonde. "Oh, I believe it." I said with a wink. I leaned forward sloooowly, so that Laila would get the full idea of my height. I picked up the menu and flicked through it languidly. I looked up at her. She was watching me with wide eyes and a slightly confused expression. Her cheeks were flushed. Bingo. "Wanna order?" I asked.

"It was weird being a customer at Kelly's. Considering I work there." Laila said half an hour later, as we walked down the road. I sighed dramatically. "I take a pretty girl on a date and she finds it weird." I said, pretending to be heartbroken, waiting for her reaction. She didn't disappoint. "_Date_?" she squeaked. "Of course," I said, looking down at her. Dang, she was tiny. She was around 5"3, a whole foot shorter than me. "What else would you call this?" I continued. She didn't say anything for a long time. I held her hand as we crossed the street. The hair on my arms stood up as I felt what could only be called electricity pass through us. She withdrew her hand as soon as we got to the other side. Her face was red again. "But we just met!" she said, her voice still a little squeaky. Did I mention she's dang cute when she gets flustered? Man, I got it bad. "That's how two people get to know each other." I winked. She exhaled, her cheeks still red. "Fine. But only today. Only till midnight." she said. "So I have you all to myself till midnight?" I asked. She nodded. I held out my hand for her to shake. "Lil' lady, you got a deal. You won't regret this date."


	5. Vanilla (with a little icing!)

"So. Whaddaya wanna do?" I asked Laila as she skipped along beside me, her ponytail swinging from side to side. She looked like an adorable little girl. She paused and gave me a shy look from under her eyelashes that was anything but childlike. I froze, but certain parts of my body didn't. I swallowed, trying to keep my cool. My mouth had suddenly gone dry. "Well, I thought a guy like you would have a date all planned out before surprising a girl at her workplace." she said, fluttering her lashes. I forgot to reply. I wanted to grab her right there and kiss her. _Calm down, Dal,_ I told myself, _SHE'S the college student. Not_ _you. You're thirty fuckin' three. Have some class._ She dropped the flirty act and looked at me, concerned. "Dallas? Are you alright? It can get pretty hot out in Miami, and maybe you're not used to it yet-" she said, but I interrupted her, quickly pulling myself together. "Oh, it IS hot," I said, staring down at her to make my meaning clear, "But I think I can handle it." She blushed, turning red all the way from the base of her neck to the roots of her hair. "I'm not hot," she muttered. I looked at her, surprised. I wasn't sure how to react, since I don't normally date college girls, but it was pretty clear that she wasn't fishin' for compliments. Laila Kumar genuinely didn't find herself hot. "Of course you are, lil' lady." I said lightly, lacing my fingers through hers. She looked up at me as we walked, and I saw something change in her eyes. Then she shook her head. "Come on!" she said, lettin' go of my hand an' runnin' ahead, "Let's go to the beach!"

The beach was dotted with couples, stretched out on blankets, walking hand-in-hand, and stealing kisses behind their big beach umbrellas. There was a light breeze and not a single screaming baby in sight. The place was way too romantic. I couldn't remember the las' time I'd been to such a romantic place. We started walking down the beach, a few metres behind the couple walking hand-in-hand. Laila and I rolled up our jeans so as to not get them wet. We walked slowly, feeling the water and sand shift beneath our feet. I was (figuratively) out of my depth. I had no idea what to say to the girl beside me. I couldn't remember the last time I was so tongue-tied. Me, Mr. Smooth, Sex-God Dallas. But Laila seemed perfectly at home, walking down the beach and letting the wind play with her long, shiny hair. _I belong_ _in a strip club_, I thought, suddenly hopeless. I shook my head. _Dallas, what's gotten into you?! It's just a damn date! This is not some I-love-you-let's-be-together-forever shit. Just go with the flow_. So I asked Laila the first thing that popped into my head. "How old are you?" She grinned. "Twenty-one." she said. Good, she was legal. "So you graduate this year?" I asked. "Yeah!" she said, her eyes bright. "What're your future plans?" I asked, cringing at how lame I sounded. She pursed her lips. "I don't know. Quit working at Kelly's, definitely. God, that place sucks. I can't stand the smell. Whatever we do, it always smells that bad. We just can't get it to go." she said, sounding exasperated. I grinned. "I want to get a REAL job," she continued, "Or maybe do my post grad? That'll help me get a good job." "What is it with you and academics?!" I exclaimed, "_Post grad?_ Seriously?" "There ARE some of us who don't mind a little hard work, you know," she said sarcastically, "Plus, it'll make my parents proud if I do my post grad and then land a really good job." "You wanna make your _parents_ proud?" I asked, my eyebrows raised. "What's wrong with that?" she shot back. I thought for a while, rubbing my chin. "Nothin', really. Jus' that mos' twenty-one year olds care more about havin' a good time than makin' their _parents_ proud, or pursuin' their higher education fresh outta under grad." I said. She nodded, then shrugged. "Each person has different priorities," she said, "These are mine." We walked in silence for a few minutes. She was observing the couple in front of us. They were kissing, giggling and basically doing couple shit. Too lovey-dovey for my likin'. I looked down at Laila. She was expressionless. I didn' like that. I wanted to say somethin' to snap her outta her serious mode. I looked towards the sea, an' noticed the sunset. I nudged her gently. "Look." I said softly. Her expression softened when she looked at the pink-orange sky, threaded with indigo, and the sun half hidden behind the water. "Such a beautiful paradox," she whispered. I didn' understand how the sunset was a paradox, but I agreed that it was beautiful. And so was she. Her eyes were shining as they absorbed the beautiful sight before her. "Laila?" I asked. "Yeah?" she asked, lookin' up at me. I took her face between my hands and gazed into her eyes, before kissing her softly on the lips.


End file.
